Improvement in fountain inking-pads for hand-stamps



` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EnANcIs J. coUTANT; or NEW YOEIQN. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,383, dated January 13, 1.874; application filed October 25, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANcIs J. COUTANT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fountain Inking-Pads for Hand-Stamps, of

which the following is a specification:

The invention will first be fully described, and then pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a I longitudinal vertical section taken on the line l w a' of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a top view.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the tank or fountain, which may be l made of metal or any material suitable for the purpose. The ink or liquid isintroduced into this tank or vessel through the orifice B. C is the pad, which may be made in the usual manner, attached to a plate, D, which rests in a recess in the top of the tank, so as to be readily7 removed when it is found necessary to l renew the ink. E is a ribbon, of any suitable y which the ribbon passes. The ribbon is moved over the pad by turning the rollers F G. The ribbon winds up on one roller and unwinds from the other, and may be moved back and forth, or in either direction, as may be desired.

' In passing up and down through the top of the tank, a certain amount of friction is required pad. This is accomplished by means of elastic plates or valves K K, one of which is stationary. The other is griped between metallic plates, and moved so as to press the valve against the ribbon by means of finger-screws, which move in slots inthe top of the tank. Two devices are seen for this purpose, both producing the same result. L is a plate at one end of the tank, through which the screws m on pass, which plate is forced upand the screws moved laterally by the cam-levers N N The finger-screws O O at the other end are attached to an angleplate, and produce the same result in a diii'erent manner. `These elastic valves not only produce'the desired friction, but they prevent leakage.

In the ordinary pad for hand-stamps the ink is applied directly to the outside; consequently there is either a surplus or a deficiency the most of the time. In either case, an imperfect impression, a blot, or a faint outline is made, instead of a plain and distinct counterpart of the stamp.

With this fountain-pad the quantity of ink carried up by the ribbon is always the same, and cannot be varied except by compressing the ribbon between the valves. Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters PatentrBhe combination, With ribbon E, of the elastic plates K K, plate L, screws M, and cam-- levers N, as and for thepurpose specified.

FRANCIS J. coUTANT.

Witnesses T. B. MosHER, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 

